Unidentified killer slays woman in her Lower NE public housing unit

The same man also attacked the murder victim’s daughter at the Hill Creek Apartments before fleeing

An unidentified killer used a knife and a hammer to stab and beat a woman to death inside her Lower Northeast apartment, while also injuring the victim’s daughter on July 12.

The slaying occurred inside a unit of the Hill Creek public housing project on the 5500 block of North Hill Creek Drive at about 7 a.m., police said. The victim’s screams alerted neighbors, who called 911.

Officers found Rosalind Wicks, 57, lying on the kitchen floor with multiple cuts and blunt force injuries. She was bleeding heavily. Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene. Wicks’ daughter, whose age was not reported, struggled with the attacker and suffered a head injury, police said. She was taken to Albert Einstein Medical Center.

The killer fled the scene before police arrived. Authorities have not said if he was known to the victims or if he had entered the apartment illegally. Police searched nearby woods but did not find him. They also notified area hospitals to watch for patients seeking treatment for injuries consistent with a violent struggle. ••